Taken from the UK tabloid The Daily Mirror 10th April 04 www.mirror.co.uk

FROM SEX GOD TO DOORSTEP BIBLE BASHER

By Nick Webster


ON the quiet suburban streets of Minneapolis, he cuts a remarkable figure. Dressed in a tailor-made suit and trademark stack heels, he steps lightly out of his purring limo and, surrounded by four bodyguards, approaches the modest picket-fenced homes.

And to each astonished resident opening their doors to the peculiar group, multi-millionaire superstar Prince quietly asks: "Would you like to talk about Jesus?"

Welcome to the new world of the man who once outraged a nation with the song Sexy MF and who changed his name to a symbol. Gone are the wild parties, the womanising and the bizarre all-purple lifestyle. Instead, 45-year-old Prince's hedonistic excesses have been replaced with door-to-door preaching and Bible study classes.

Credit for this remarkable transformation, the Daily Mirror can reveal, is down to his mother's dying wishes, new wife Manuela Testolini, who, at 27, is 18 years his junior, and his baptism as a Jehovah's Witness.

It is Manuela - the fan-turned-employee-turned-spouse - who has stood by his side as he embraced his new faith and it is she who has helped him return to the musical spotlight after years of obscurity.

This month sees the release of his critically-acclaimed new album Musicology and he recently made a triumphant return to performing at the Grammy awards.

The bid to recapture his position among the pop elite is music to the ears of Canadian-born Manuela.

Prince - who has romanced a string of women, including Sheena Easton, Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles, Madonna, Kim Basinger, Kristin Scott Thomas and Carmen Electra - has never been a big fan of monogamy.

But now, in middle-age, he seems to have adopted it with Manuela.

But the way he and Mani, as she is known, met and married is a strange combination of fairytale and stalker fantasy.

She grew up in a tiny two-bed apartment in a run-down block on the thundering Don Mills Road in Toronto, Canada.

She was a plain teenager who, as a high school student, was known as an avid Prince fan.

Her passion for the diminutive musician continued at York University in Toronto - where she studied for a degree in art - to the detriment of her social life.

FELLOW student Sorayah Kassim-Lakha remembers her regularly playing her hero's hits, particularly If I Was Your Girlfriend and I Wanna Be Your Lover.

"Mani was always very quiet at college," Sorayah says. "She didn't go in for parties and stuff like that.

"She was only ever interested in her art and in Prince. She was obsessed with him. It's all she ever talked about."

Mani was a frequent visitor to the internet fan club alt.music.prince, a forum devoted to her then hero and now husband.

She admitted to being a "lurker" - someone who watches what others say but seldom joins in conversations.

One of the UK fans who did talk to her online was Antony Golding from Bolton, Lancs.

"It's all a bit surreal," he says. "She was just a fan who posted a couple of messages and then suddenly she was working at his Paisley Park recording studios... and then she was his wife."

Manuela graduated from university in the summer of 1998 and soon after she landed her dream job working with the singer. That year, she received a brief credit on Prince's New Power Soul album.

Twelve months later, she became his assistant. Rumours quickly began to circulate that she was more than just a member of staff before his marriage to first wife Mayte Garcia was annulled in May 2000.

Less than three years earlier, Mayte had given birth to the couple's son Gregory, who tragically only lived a week before dying from the rare bone condition Pfeiffer Syndrome, a genetic skull deformity.

SOON after the annulment, Prince, who was once worth £100million, took Manuela with him to Bible study classes with the Jehovah's Witnesses.

After a hush-hush romance, superstar and fan tied the knot in a Jehovah's Witness wedding in Hawaii on New Year's Eve 2001.

A year later, in a private ceremony at the Kingdom Hall in Chanhassen, Minnesota, Prince and Mani were baptised into their new faith in front of the 167-strong congregation.

A small bathtub-sized pool was hired for the occasion. Wearing knee-length robes with swimsuits underneath, they became full members of the church by being immersed in the pool.

Ronald Scofield - one of the elders of the Chanhassen Congregation, Prince's new place of worship - says it was a special day for all.

"Every time one of our members gets baptised it's exciting. But this was exceptionally exciting because it was someone who has made a lot of changes to their life.

"We have watched Prince since he started studying the Bible and noticed a dramatic change. It's something to be very proud of."

The death of Prince's mother, jazz singer Mattie Shaw, was a turning point for the star, who has sold more than 100million albums.

Her dying wishes were for him to become a Jehovah's Witness, as she had been for most of her life, and to see him married. He tied the knot with Mani weeks before his mother passed away and six months after the death of his father, pianist and bandleader John L Nelson.

As part of his new life, Prince and Manuela pay weekly visits to the residents of Minneapolis. At times, Scofield accompanies the couple and their bodyguards.

HE admits it can take a good few minutes before stunned homeowners recover from the shock of finding a superstar at their door.

Speaking publicly about Prince's new beliefs for the first time, Scofield confirms: "He's so well known that when he turns up on people's doorsteps, it really surprises them.

"To see him in a Christian lifestyle is very pleasant. He's doing very well and spiritually he seems to be making a great deal of progress, too.

"We go on Bible studies together and work in field service, the door-to-door ministry that Jehovah's Witnesses are known for. When you get past the initial shock of actually meeting Prince, he is very persuasive. He uses the scriptures very well."

After a decade of seclusion, the man christened Prince Rogers Nelson is back to being plain old Prince and playing the hits that made him famous such as Purple Rain, Let's Go Crazy and Little Red Corvette.

And no longer is he synonymous with Paisley Park and Minneapolis.

These days, he and Manuela spend much of their time in Los Angeles or the sprawling £3million grey stone mansion he bought at 61 The Bridle Path in an upmarket area of Toronto. At first, mystery surrounded the purchase of the luxury home by a firm called Gamillah Holdings, until it was discovered that the company's president is one Manuela Testolini.

While the couple are away touring the US, builders are constructing a large gatehouse and a new fence, complete with tennis court and pool.

Though it seems a world away, the estate is just a five-minute drive from Mani's parents' tiny apartment.

Despite the age gap and the star's colourful past, Prince has been welcomed with open arms by the Testolini family.

In January, residents of the village of Calabogie - on the outskirts of Ottawa - couldn't believe their eyes when he and Mani arrived in a gleaming limousine for the modest wedding of her sister Daniela to businessman Michael Dykeman. Onlookers say Prince and his wife happily mingled with the other 80 guests during the reception at the Dickson Manor ski lodge.

The singer admits that along with a new wife, he also has a new set of values. "There's no more envelope to push," he says. "I pushed it off the table. It's on the floor. Let's move forward."

PRINCE also says that TV viewers are now bombarded with dirty music videos.

"Back when I made sexy tunes, the sexiest thing on TV was Dynasty and if you watch it now, it's like the Brady Bunch," he explains.

"My song Darling Nikki was considered porn because I said the word masturbate. That's not me any more."

But with the new tour and album to sell, maybe the wife and new beliefs are just another marketing tool being used by one of the world's ultimate showmen.

Among those with a view about the "new" Prince is Minneapolis gossip columnist CJ, who has followed his career for years, much to the annoyance of the artist himself who wrote a song about her called Billy Jack Bitch.

"A lot of credit is being given to Manuela," she says.

"Both his parents died recently, too. And that's the last barrier to realising that you, too, will die. Maybe that's the reason for the change in personality.

"He was always capable of monogamy but the man got bored quickly. The traumatic death of his baby changed all that. It affected him in a big way.

"People are curious as to why he's changed. The joke here in Minneapolis is that it looks like they finally got the medication right."

Yup Mani sure does "love him 4 him".

I can't imagine how bizarre it would be to marry an "obsessed fan/stalker" that people remember as being fixated on you for YEARS before they even met you.

I've heard the rumors about Mani having said, before she even started working at Paisley Park or met Prince, that her one goal in life was to marry Prince.

The whole thing is rather twisted if you ask me.

Hi Mani! It's nice to know you helped motivate Prince to make a big splash this year.

This must all be great news for Natasha, wherever she is. Don't give up girl. You could be next.

FELLOW student Sorayah Kassim-Lakha remembers her regularly playing her hero's hits, particularly If I Was Your Girlfriend and I Wanna Be Your Lover.



Gotta love the tabloids!

"I can't imagine how bizarre it would be to marry an "obsessed fan/stalker" that people remember as being fixated on you for YEARS before they even met you."

Yeah, my thoughts 2, pretty scary! wonder if she's allowed 2 discuss all those 'Unreleased recordings'?

nemesis2099 said:

Go, Bolton! Go, Bolton!

Damn! That means she's the only fam who's ever gonna get to see the contents of the Vault!!

Press Complaints Commission http://www.pcc.org.uk/index2.html about the address part.

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[This message was edited Mon Apr 12 14:56:28 2004 by katt]

Surprisingly for the Mirror it seemed well written and researched. At least they have covered the gaps that no-one seems to know about!

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[This message was edited Sun Apr 11 12:28:51 2004 by katt]

BinaryJustin said:

Go me, go me!

AntonyGolding said:

Whereabouts in Bolton are you? I'm in Little Lever.

Good article. Finally know a lil bit more 'bout Mani. I think that's bit 'crazed' esp. IF it wuz thought her goal wuz 2 marry Prince. But if she can get da contents of da Vault opened,then she may be useful 2 us,lolz. I doubt she's allowed 2 disscuss about the unreleased songs.

BinaryJustin said:

I'm in Great Lever. I didn't realise Bolton was such a hotbed of Prince activity & fandom!

AntonyGolding said:

Antony, How were you approached for your quote? Just interested.

AntonyGolding said:

Dude you're famous!


Hey anyone knoe if it is true Prince's mother was a witness aswell?

great read

And I guess it's always good to know that there is still hope for all you - female - stalkers out there

Marrk said:

I received an out of the blue phone call from Nick Webster on Wednesday evening. He was interested in my opinion about conversing with someone that is now Prince's wife on usenet. It was actually news to me, since although i knew Mani had posted to alt.music.prince, I had no idea she had replied to something I had posted.

He mentioned he had been researching an article and had been speaking to the elders from Prince's church and other people, and since he didn't say anything that was likely to lead to a negative/inacurate article I was happy to assist him. I tried plugging www.princelyrics.co.uk with him, but he didn't bite!

Marrk said:

I'm intrigued too. Did they find old newsgroup postings archived someplace and email you directly?

My closest brush to fame was when Guy Oseary (co-owner of Maverick Records) asked me to change a caption on a Madonna website I used to co-run. He didn't ask me directly - Madonna's manager Carresse Henry phoned the person I used to co-run the website with and it came up in conversation. I had referred to Giselle Bundchen as being his "current squeeze", he had read it and wanted it changed.

I was also asked by Endemol Productions to appear on a Channel Five show as a "Madonna Expert". I declined. I also researched an article on Madonna's stage career for Attitude magazine and was told that the website and I would receive a credit in the published piece, but the assistant editor didn't name-check me at all.

AntonyGolding said:

Ooh! Is that yours? I went there the other week as I was looking for the lyrics to "Snow Man".

Gregory, huh? Skull deformity. Hmmm.... poor thing.

I'm sorry, I know that the Mirror tried to be sensible in their desription of Manni but she sounds like her only goal in life - which she succeed in acomplishing- was to be with Prince for all time. There's laws against people like her.

Wow Gregory... I knew Prince was mysterious and extremly private, but for some, what happens to him does effect his fans/fam. That explains alot in the sense of his music for a couple of years.

I don't know what to make of this article.

On the one hand, there's a lot of information that if true I've never heard anywhere else.

On the other hand, some bits seem a bit contrived to fit the tone of the article. It is fortunate for the article that Mani's favourite Prince songs were 'If I was your girlfriend' and 'I wanna be your lover' - wouldn't quite have worked if they were 'Batdance' and 'Glam Slam'!

Also they seem to push the 'stalker' angle - and then unnecessarily give the address of Prince's new house - as if to say, and for all you stalkers out there, here's where to go...

I also hate how articles present inferred information as fact when it's just in fact supposition. They talk about Prince turning to Jehovah's Witnessing because of his mother - unless Prince himself comes out with a quote saying that, it's unsubstantiated.

And part of that article uses quotes from Prince from an interview elsewhere - I hate how they make it like THEY interviewed him or something.

Suggesting that Prince is perhaps only being a Jehovah's Witness because it is somehow the 'in' thing for his career is ridiculous - quite the opposite - in fact the media tend to imply Jehovah's Witnessing is some sort of freakish cult when it is in fact a long established religion - if they ridiculed other religions like that, there'd be a massive outcry.

metalorange said:

AntonyGolding said:

Congratulations, Anthony. As soon as I saw your name, I remembered your mug from the AMP's good ol days and how you manage to stay pretty while being an amateur boxer. And now notoriety is yours, courtesy of the Daily Mirror. If you are still in contact with Manni, tell her there's no harm in inviting me for a swim at Bridle Path, which is about 10 minutes from here.

Anyhoo, whatever the truth, I'm happy Prince turned all these negatives into positives. He seems to have worked his way out of what must have been a very anguished period of his life.

PrimordialOoze said:

I cosign this. I mean if this article is true, its almost like she is the main persuader. Next thing you know she will be trying to ride his motorcycle and completely taking over HIS business affairs. Notice I said try, I don't think P will let that happen.

Marrying a fan...? Hmmm, I think its cuz she is pretty, cuz if she were ugg, she really wouldn't be his wife right now. P don't go for them ugly girls.

I mean I luv P and everybody that knows me knows this, but I don't want to marry him. Kiss him yes, husband ummm no. I have the sense to know that I wouldn't be the only fan in his bedroom if that were the case.

She was on his payroll even before him and Mayte were over, doesn't that tell you something, he was basically messing around with her before his marriage was over, so what makes her think he won't do the same to her. What comes around goes around. I personally don't think his string of women will end with Mani. But if it does, I just want him to be happy.

No, I think Mani is here to say. Prince is a hop, jump and high-heeled split away from 50. I think he's tired and has settled down for good. He's has his pick of women for over 20 years and now he can finally sit down and enjoy someone.

I don't know why I am still reading all these and that, because it does only hurt me and makes my life impossible.
Sometimes I think that can be only a nightmare, but all is to real to be just a dream. I hate you!

whoa. tabloid journalism, but the sources are prince's own pastor, mani's schoolchum. seems pretty reliable.

sounds twisted to me and extremely ironic that he'd actually marry a woman who announced her intention of getting with him before she even met him ("oh great. now you think you're my soulmate. you don't even know what kinda cereal i like")

and to marry her at the request of his dying mother while suffering the extreme effects of grief.. . it has undue influence written all over it. ..

. .. .. but, he does seem happy so hopefully it will work out for the best